Stronger Together - A Better Response for those in Crisis

Dakota County leads the way in helping people who experience a mental health crisis to get the right service at the right time. This improves their well-being and public safety.

Collaboration starts with the first call for help. The county partners with Dakota 911, the emergency dispatch center. Instead of sending police to every emergency call, Dakota 911 transfers calls involving a mental health crisis to trained county social workers. They can answer a call from anywhere, and some of the social workers are based in city offices for quicker responses. Police officers or sheriff’s deputies still respond to crisis calls if there is a crime, weapon or violence involved.

About 80 percent of 911 mental health calls transferred directly to us can be handled by our crisis team without the need for police. We can get people resources they need and save valuable law enforcement time.

Not every crisis is resolved during that first call, so we created the embedded social worker partnership to follow up on situations better resolved with mental health experts.

Embedded social workers work side by side with officers to provide crisis follow-up and stabilization services. We want people to receive an effective, lasting response that helps them get better.

These services are especially important as we see an increase in people experiencing mental health challenges. Our crisis response unit received about 9,400 calls in 2021 and more than 12,600 in 2022.

Dakota County’s crisis response model, including our partnerships with local police, was recognized by the Association of Minnesota Counties. Other counties are designing their response efforts after what we’ve done to help our residents and strengthen public safety.

www.dakotacounty.us, search crisis response

If you or someone you know is struggling with a mental health crisis, call the Dakota County 24/7 Crisis Response Unit at 952-891-7171 or the National Suicide and Crisis Lifeline at 988.